My other car (Warning: Ford Content)

[00slk]

I think all my American cars bonnets flapped and wobbled like Rolf Harris' cardboard when Frizington about, especially as you increased your speed over 50 @daveenty

 

[daveenty]

Just a very quick update as nothing much has been happening. I did manage to get to Newby Hall again last month for the Sports Cars in the Park meet and met up with one or two from here which was good. A poorly attended event though, probably due to the poor weather and time of year. Having said that, I did have a good time in Knaresborough where I stayed, lovely little place with loads going on. Oh, and I managed 14mpg over the weekend which is the best I've ever done with this motor.

Still no sign of my weatherstripping which is needed for the doors. According to the tracking number it's been sat for over 6 weeks now in a New Jersey Post office. I've emailed the supplier about this as I don't want to lose money, especially the amount that these things cost. They replied and seemed as upset as me so are currently chasing the carriers and, if no joy, they'll get a replacement out to me in the next week or two.

Anyway, while waiting for these window felts to arrive, I thought I'd have a play with the fitting of the doors. The hinges had no play, which can be a problem with these earlier Fords, so I just tried a few fine adjustments which appears to have had the desired effect. The windows are now just about touching the top seals and the swage lines are lined up reasonably well with the rear wing. Apparently the common mistake, and admittedly one I made, is to try and line the door with the front wing which is an adjustable item itself whereas it should be lined up with the rear wing as a fixed item. According to an American forum I frequent, I've now done it the correct way but I shouldn't expect perfection as they never got that from the factory, more a case of "something like". I'm currently happy with the way they sit anyway so that's enough for now.

I'll be stripping the interior (again) this week in readiness for the welding jobs which I've been putting off for ages. I've got most of my stuff together in readiness but still no new carpets or seats as yet. I'm not 100% convinced about either yet, the carpet has a few battle scars but isn't too bad, likewise the seats, scruffy yet functional. I'll get the metalwork done first and then have another look at it once the Kilmat/Dynamat is in place. No rush I suppose.

 

[daveenty]

My window felts eventually arrived. Two lots of them. The initial order which had been stuck in a New Jersey Post Office for over 2 months and the set which were sent as a replacement for them. Both arrived on the same delivery van so I emailed the supplier and explained this to them. They're not bothered as they have been compensated by USPS so I now have a spare set. I'd put them up for sale but I think I may be limited on buyers in the UK. Well done to the people at Steele Rubber in the US though, outstanding aftersales and made sure that I got these felts, all of which are now fitted apart from the passenger inner one as I'm short of space on that side at the moment.

Having stripped the interior out in order to carry out some minor repair work, including welding the transmission tunnel in to improve it's strength and aesthetics, I soon realised that it was going to take a lot more work than I initially assumed. I'd never really seen the rear of the floor before as everything I've needed to get to has been accessible by removing just the front half of the carpet. Having removed the seats and the rear carpet I could now see what I was up against. The rear floor was very weak in places and dire in others.

I decided to tackle it in quarters, under seat (rear) and footwells (front) either side, the first being the passenger side rear. There was one rotten section on a seam but not too bad, quickly resolved by cutting a couple of small pieces out and tacking new steel in. The other piece in this quarter was around the inner rear seat mounting. It was pretty thin and starting to pull away so this was strengthened from both underneath and on top as I obviously want the seat to be secure.

The drivers side rear was showing signs of a previous repair but lacking any rust prevention, even paint. It initially looked solid but as soon as I put the torch near it, it ended up like a lace curtain. I tried to put a patch in a place which looked solid but soon gave up as the rot was everywhere so I've acquired a complete new left rear floor from the US. I won't use anywhere near all of it but the main section I need is the section with all the strengthening rolls in. This will be trimmed down and welded into place, hopefully this week.

As it was: -



As it currently is: -



The front sections seemed to be intact apart from a couple of small holes near the drivers side inner sill and close to a previous repair. This has now been cut out and a patch tacked in. Once all the floors are welded in and made solid I'll be smothering them with black paint, both inside and out, and then probably giving the outside a light covering of underseal to try to protect it for a while.

I decided to treat it to a plush new carpet from the US. The more time that I spent looking at the old one, the worst it seemed to get. There were holes everywhere which I'm assuming were to accommodate various things which are no longer there, including the full harnesses it used to have and all the various gear shifters, at least 3 which I'm aware of. The new carpet comes complete with "Mass Backing", basically it's self insulating rubber backed, so I'll initially try it without any Dynamat/Kilmat as suggested by the manufacturer though I'm resigned to the fact that I'll probably have to invest in some proper stuff in the future.

I'm still worried about water ingress. I thought there was a lot less now that I have my new window seals in place but after a particularly rain sodden day, the water's been dripping down the fresh air vents in the dash cowl. Apparently a common fault on mid 60s/early 70s Fords but this is something I need to sort out before the new carpet goes in as I don't particularly want it ruined the first time it rains, so a lot of digging around to do when we get a dry day.

 

[daveenty]

The first of the next set of jobs was to fit the inner window felt which I couldn't access previously. These are held onto the door card by about seven heavy duty staples which caused me grief on the drivers side as I couldn't really close the staples tightly enough. I managed in the end with pliers and grips but wasn't happy with them so decided to rivet this side. Half the time and at least as secure so all my new weatherproofing is now fitted.

I'm hoping that the water leaks are now sorted, though not 100% convinced. I spent a while blasting water down through the dash cowl (scuttle) having first removed the plastic grilles. I started with a hosepipe and a piece of welding wire to loosen the mud/leaf mulch which was in there, ending up with a pressure washer squirting in the general direction of where I knew the drain hole to be. That seemed to do it, the water drained quickly and it's now currently dry in there. The grilles will currently not be going back in. They've been replaced by plain steel, cut to shape, screwed in and seam sealed. Hopefully this will keep the water out and my feet, along with the new carpet, dry.

All the rot has now been cut out and all welding completed on the floors, which are now hopefully watertight, basically 5 large patches and a new rear section have been added. The floor has also had a good coat of Hammerite inside and out, followed by a spray of Schutz underseal underneath for a bit of extra insurance. I've also blasted a bit of this underseal under the dash near the cowl vent just because really. I'm still nervous about the previous leaks so am tending to take a belt and braces approach.



It took me a while to make a decision with regard to changing the seats. I was watching a few sets on the bay but nothing leapt out at me until I decided to narrow my search a bit. I was looking carefully as a lot of the ones which were for sale have a lot more controls on the drivers seat which is no good for me as I need the same control on the passenger seat due to the left hand drive aspect. I narrowed my search to French stuff as I've always found them to be comfier than most and have ended up with a pair of black leather ones from a Peugeot 307 CC. Another set from a 207 CC were discounted as the seller was either ignoring questions or taking an age to answer. Oh, and they were white which is probably not the best colour for me and a 50+ year old Yank Tank. I also decided against a set from a MINI. They seemed to be OK but there was just something talking me out of them, possibly the rather loud design. I'll have to modify the frames and possibly also the rails to fit my mountings but hopefully this won't be too complicated.

I have managed to get some carpet down, I like doing things like this where you can see a massive change in a few minutes. The carpet is split into front and rear so I got the front section fitted. It did want a substantial amount of trimming but it seems OK so far. I would have fitted the back piece but the gear selector decided to start playing up and refused to select park so that took the rest of my time up. This was eventually sorted by re-tightening one little grub screw after coating it in Loctite. Finding the issue was the hard bit. I've now decided that the rear carpet can wait until I have the new seats on their frames ready for fitting as it will need holes making in it for the seat fastening bolts. I may as well do this once they're in place and not guess at it. As I don't have the seats yet, I'll be starting on the massive interior clean up as everything has got pretty filthy with all the work which has been done in the cab.

All being well I'll have it on the road for next Sunday as there's a local American car meet which I may try to get to. Not a problem if it doesn't happen but the forecast is good and it would be nice to give the truck a little run out.

 

[daveenty]

The new seats arrived on a pallet within 2 days of ordering, well packed and in good shape. I took them down to my local welder to mount the seat rail to the frame as the frame work is a bit too thick for me to attempt with Oxy-Acetylene which is all I use for welding. I should really have invested in a decent MIG set years ago but, for the amount of use it would get, I could never really justify it so stuck with gas.

The rear carpet is now in place, trimmed and the seats bolted down. I've been trying to get it all back together for a couple of weeks but, as the rain has been coming sideways, I had to wait a while as I didn't want the carpet drenched while I was trying to fit it. I've also had builders in replacing the roof on the house which has taken longer than expected, again due to the weather but they're now finished apart from a bit of clearing up. This again slowed me down as the truck had to be parked on the street out of the way of the scaffolding and general mayhem.

This is one of the original pictures from the seller before I bought the truck: -



And this is it's current state: -



One from the front looking back: -



I think it's a fair improvement and it's certainly a better place now to spend a bit of time. Incidentally, the stains on the new seats are just water marks from where I've been cleaning them. They're dry now...

I'm going to have a couple of days off it now, clean and polish the Mercedes a bit then back to my slowly diminishing "Things to do list" on the Ranchero.

Onwards and upwards

 

[EmilysDad]

looking good!

 

[AMGeed]

Looks a nice comfy place to be now Dave. The carpets have made a big difference.

 

[daveenty]

Looks a nice comfy place to be now Dave. The carpets have made a big difference.

Still loud though Roger, carpet's not done much for that bit.

 

[AMGeed]

Still loud though Roger, carpet's not done much for that bit.

Got to have a least one loud V8 Dave

 

[peterws1957]

Just a very quick update as nothing much has been happening. I did manage to get to Newby Hall again last month for the Sports Cars in the Park meet and met up with one or two from here which was good. A poorly attended event though, probably due to the poor weather and time of year. Having said that, I did have a good time in Knaresborough where I stayed, lovely little place with loads going on. Oh, and I managed 14mpg over the weekend which is the best I've ever done with this motor.

Still no sign of my weatherstripping which is needed for the doors. According to the tracking number it's been sat for over 6 weeks now in a New Jersey Post office. I've emailed the supplier about this as I don't want to lose money, especially the amount that these things cost. They replied and seemed as upset as me so are currently chasing the carriers and, if no joy, they'll get a replacement out to me in the next week or two.

Anyway, while waiting for these window felts to arrive, I thought I'd have a play with the fitting of the doors. The hinges had no play, which can be a problem with these earlier Fords, so I just tried a few fine adjustments which appears to have had the desired effect. The windows are now just about touching the top seals and the swage lines are lined up reasonably well with the rear wing. Apparently the common mistake, and admittedly one I made, is to try and line the door with the front wing which is an adjustable item itself whereas it should be lined up with the rear wing as a fixed item. According to an American forum I frequent, I've now done it the correct way but I shouldn't expect perfection as they never got that from the factory, more a case of "something like". I'm currently happy with the way they sit anyway so that's enough for now.

I'll be stripping the interior (again) this week in readiness for the welding jobs which I've been putting off for ages. I've got most of my stuff together in readiness but still no new carpets or seats as yet. I'm not 100% convinced about either yet, the carpet has a few battle scars but isn't too bad, likewise the seats, scruffy yet functional. I'll get the metalwork done first and then have another look at it once the Kilmat/Dynamat is in place. No rush I suppose.

Dave I missed your post on the felt kit. These kits are stupid money from US suppliers. I nearly spent £200 on a kit for mine but if you look at Woolies of Peterborough the prices for weather stripping etc are probably quarter the price. Too late now but bear them in mind if you need trim pieces. They've been around for decades and are very friendly and knowledgeable.

 

[daveenty]

Dave I missed your post on the felt kit. These kits are stupid money from US suppliers. I nearly spent £200 on a kit for mine but if you look at Woolies of Peterborough the prices for weather stripping etc are probably quarter the price. Too late now but bear them in mind if you need trim pieces. They've been around for decades and are very friendly and knowledgeable.

Ah well, never mind Pete, just had a quick look at their site and I may have got away with some of their profiles on the felts though, as I mentioned earlier, I now have a spare set courtesy of USPS. I'll certainly bookmark them for future reference but it won't be this year now, I'm going to leave the thing alone for a few weeks apart from the odd local trip.

 

[daveenty]

Since my last post all I was bothered about was tidying it up a bit as it's been stood for ages. The interior wasn't too bad as I'd cleaned most things up before I installed the carpet and seats but I gave everything a quick going over anyway. I spent a bit of time on the new seats, using Gliptone products, namely a cleaner then conditioner but, to be fair, they didn't need much and came up really well. A bit of wear in the driver's bolster but this is now the passenger seat so not a problem. Incidentally, I was going to take the old seats to the tip but a friend suggested putting them on eBay. I did as suggested and am well happy with the result as they have more than paid for the new ones.

I then gave it a bit of a wash, nothing special but enough to get it something like. It then got a quick going over with a clay mitt and then a blast of Turtle Wax seal and shine, more as a drying aid than for the finish. I'm pleased with how it came up as it was starting to look a bit neglected after all the interior work it's had over the last month or two.

Unfortunately, not long after this wash, I noticed that my new carpet was soaking wet at the back of the drivers seat. Upon investigation it seemed that one of the drains from the pickup bed was blocked. These drains were cleaned out once, or so I thought, but the drivers side was only allowing water to drain from the bed, not to completely exit. It's supposed to come down the drain from the bed into a channel which runs along the top of the sill, then exit at the front of the sill, dropping out behind the front wing. An absolutely crazy system as this channel also carries all the wiring from front to back. Add a few years of leaf mulch, soil, seeds and loads of other detritus to these wires and it's no wonder it backed up. The water was getting to the top of the sill but couldn't get any further due to lots of nasty gunge, so took the easiest route which was onto the cab floor. It's probably been doing this for quite some time but, as the old floor was rotten and porous, it wouldn't have stayed wet for long so was less noticeable. I've now cleaned it all out with gallons of hot water and bleach and it seems OK at the moment, so fingers crossed.

One oversight was seat belts. When I bought the car it had the full harnesses as can be seen in a previous post. These were the first things I got rid of as I just felt them to be totally wrong for the truck. I replaced them with lap straps as there isn't really a suitable high anchor mount for a standard three point belt. The new seats have built in belt receivers which, typically, my belts don't fit so I ordered a new pair of 2 point retractable ones. These are now fitted and a lot neater than the old ones.

I had a little ride out in it earlier. It needed fuel and I wanted to test it to make sure everything was working OK. It seems to be a bit quieter than it was, possibly due to all the new weather seals, probably the carpet as it has pretty thick insulation. The problem with less noise is that I'm now hearing all sorts of strange rattles and bangs. Nothing serious I hope but it may be time to turn the music up instead of listening for noises.

No more updates for a while hopefully as I intend to just potter about in it for a while burning a bit of rubber and a lot of fuel.

 

[daveenty]

Firstly, a Happy New Year, hope you all have a good one. I thought I'd get this in now as I'm trying to be free from internet over the next few days, just for a bit of a break really.

Not too much to report as I've not done much in or to the truck, mainly due to the horrendous weather. It seems that every day is wetter than the last one which tends to be a bit off putting in a vehicle which has been known to let water in from just about everywhere. Thankfully it seems to have been keeping dry so far but, even having gone through it all, I'm still cautious of it so no unnecessary risks as yet.

I've been tweaking the carb a bit, just trying to weaken the mixture slightly and slow the idle down, so nothing drastic but I'm pretty rusty with these as it's been a good while since I played with a 4 barrel, or indeed any carb. It's been running fairly rich since I got the engine back in last year and it's another one of those things that I've been meaning to get sorted. It now seems to be running a lot better than it was and is ticking over smoother though possibly a touch too slow. Not quite to the point of stalling but I'll tweak it up a bit as soon as the rain lets me. I'm having to guess at the engine speed for this as the rev counter has died, so that's another job to sort out. I'm hoping that it'll be something simple like an earth but, as I'm not really lucky like that, I doubt it.

Another new problem has been an annoying ticking noise, noticeably when the car's warmed up and I'm slowing down for junctions or whatever. I eventually narrowed it down to either the speedo cable, a strong contender due to the fact that I set it on fire whilst welding the tunnel up, or the speedo head itself which is where the noise seems to be coming from. I ordered a replacement for the cable as, let's face it, it's not going to improve with use, but the only speedos I've found are in the States where most sellers won't post abroad and the ones that do certainly know how to charge.

The cable arrived rapidly, ordered on Boxing Day from the States and here on the 29th. I must admit to being impressed with Rock Auto and Fed Ex there, stunning service. It's now fitted though I've not road tested to see if the noise has gone as other stuff happened. Unless it's still noisy, I'll be holding back on the speedo head replacement at the moment. I would have liked to change this as it's in kilometres but if it's quietened down then it may just get left as I don't really want to pull the dash apart yet again. While I had it stripped down earlier I thought I'd check all the wiring to the tacho which, typically, all seemed to be fine. I ended up taking the back off it and there was a wire hanging off the PCB. I've soldered it back on again and it's currently working but definitely not a repair I'm happy with as my soldering iron is well beyond it's sell by date, as are my soldering skills. If it dies again I'll probably just replace it with a new one.

There's a local meet coming up in a week or so which I may get to, mainly as I think that the truck needs a bit of a run out so, unless the weather's really bad, I'll probably have a go with it.

 

[AMGeed]

HNY Dave. Catch you at Ollies GTG in May hopefully.

 

[peterws1957]

Firstly, a Happy New Year, hope you all have a good one. I thought I'd get this in now as I'm trying to be free from internet over the next few days, just for a bit of a break really.

Not too much to report as I've not done much in or to the truck, mainly due to the horrendous weather. It seems that every day is wetter than the last one which tends to be a bit off putting in a vehicle which has been known to let water in from just about everywhere. Thankfully it seems to have been keeping dry so far but, even having gone through it all, I'm still cautious of it so no unnecessary risks as yet.

I've been tweaking the carb a bit, just trying to weaken the mixture slightly and slow the idle down, so nothing drastic but I'm pretty rusty with these as it's been a good while since I played with a 4 barrel, or indeed any carb. It's been running fairly rich since I got the engine back in last year and it's another one of those things that I've been meaning to get sorted. It now seems to be running a lot better than it was and is ticking over smoother though possibly a touch too slow. Not quite to the point of stalling but I'll tweak it up a bit as soon as the rain lets me. I'm having to guess at the engine speed for this as the rev counter has died, so that's another job to sort out. I'm hoping that it'll be something simple like an earth but, as I'm not really lucky like that, I doubt it.

Another new problem has been an annoying ticking noise, noticeably when the car's warmed up and I'm slowing down for junctions or whatever. I eventually narrowed it down to either the speedo cable, a strong contender due to the fact that I set it on fire whilst welding the tunnel up, or the speedo head itself which is where the noise seems to be coming from. I ordered a replacement for the cable as, let's face it, it's not going to improve with use, but the only speedos I've found are in the States where most sellers won't post abroad and the ones that do certainly know how to charge.

The cable arrived rapidly, ordered on Boxing Day from the States and here on the 29th. I must admit to being impressed with Rock Auto and Fed Ex there, stunning service. It's now fitted though I've not road tested to see if the noise has gone as other stuff happened. Unless it's still noisy, I'll be holding back on the speedo head replacement at the moment. I would have liked to change this as it's in kilometres but if it's quietened down then it may just get left as I don't really want to pull the dash apart yet again. While I had it stripped down earlier I thought I'd check all the wiring to the tacho which, typically, all seemed to be fine. I ended up taking the back off it and there was a wire hanging off the PCB. I've soldered it back on again and it's currently working but definitely not a repair I'm happy with as my soldering iron is well beyond it's sell by date, as are my soldering skills. If it dies again I'll probably just replace it with a new one.

There's a local meet coming up in a week or so which I may get to, mainly as I think that the truck needs a bit of a run out so, unless the weather's really bad, I'll probably have a go with it.

Dave just on the subject of US sellers not posting to the UK, if all else fails there is a company called MyUS Adress. Seller sends the item to them in the States and they forward on to you. Some sellers won't do it but I've used it a few times and had no problems.

 

[00slk]

Dave just on the subject of US sellers not posting to the UK, if all else fails there is a company called MyUS Adress. Seller sends the item to them in the States and they forward on to you. Some sellers won't do it but I've used it a few times and had no problems.

I given up on US sellers too, they just don't get it
I'll sent stuff to a mate on Canada or the US now if I need anything. But it still involves freight costs twice.

 

[peterws1957]

I given up on US sellers too, they just don't get it
I'll sent stuff to a mate on Canada or the US now if I need anything. But it still involves freight costs twice.

It used to be dead easy and relatively cheap buying parts from the States and postage costs were realistic. Last time I enquired about a blower motor which was about $50, postage came in at $80. Questioned this and was told they could do it for $20 (same service). These automated postage costs always need challenging. eBay are the worst for this when buying abroad.

 

[Wearsafoxhat]

Saw this and thought of you… was at a rather bizarre car meet yesterday. ”just park in the outside lanes of the dual carriageway or on the pavement“. they said..

 

[daveenty]

Had a pleasant surprise when I sold my old Recaro seats on eBay, got quite a bit more than I paid for the new ones, so happy. It felt like a bit of a win, which I don't get very often with this truck.

I went to the American Auto Club meet on the 7th Jan at Barton Airport. There seemed to be a lot of interest this month, possibly with it being the first one of the year, though they seemed a bit limited on space with us all being crammed in together on the overflow car park. The field which is normally used seems to be undergoing some groundworks so is unavailable at the moment. I may try it again though not for a while now as I have other stuff to be getting on with. Hopefully they'll have sorted the parking out by then as I want to be able to leave when I want and not have to wait for others to make way. At least it was bright and dry though bitterly cold.

Apart from this little outing, nothing else has been happening really due to various factors conspiring against me but the new speedo (in mph) is now fitted. I did try by just replacing the cable as mentioned in my previous post but, whilst the noise was better, it was still there and with a lot of needle bounce so a replacement head was ordered from the US. Now fitted, tested against Waze on my phone and it's spot on.

A quick thanks to @peterws1957 for suggesting the My US Address thing which I signed up to and used for the speedo. Not bad on the shipping costs, in fact better than most, and it saves a lot of hassle. A quick service as well, taking under 3 working days to get here.

I've been trying to get on with the little jobs which tend to add up though even keeping up with the cleaning regime has been a struggle, especially with the weather we've had. One of the little jobs was trying to improve the erroneous wiring, which is now looking far less like the rats nest it previously resembled, though it still needs a bit more tidying up. I've also filled a few cracks in the dash-pad where the previous owner had used double sided tape to hold the rev counter in place, though this was worse than anticipated so is taking a while. It's looking better now but still needs a bit more work before the tacho goes back.

I still have water leaks. It seems that the bed drain I cleared earlier is still backing up, probably due to the wiring harness which is blocking it's route. I've cleaned a load more mulch/soil out from where the drain dumps but it's been overflowing onto the cab floor. I've now taped the wiring together to consolidate it and lifted it up to free the channel as much as I can though I think the only solution to this will be to re-route the drain. I could possibly get it to flow out through the rear wheel arch which is only a few inches away but the access is going to prove challenging. I think that this will be a job for a younger and more flexible mate to sort out.

Still loads to do but getting there slowly. Treating it to an oil change next week, just waiting for the local suppliers to get the filter.

 

[daveenty]

Saw this and thought of you… was at a rather bizarre car meet yesterday. ”just park in the outside lanes of the dual carriageway or on the pavement“. they said..

I like the El Camino Brian, the 69 is my favourite though. I came close to getting one before I bought this Ranchero but it was rotten all around the windscreen which, at the time, I considered to be too much work for me. Ah well, we live and learn